Post sayings or stories from Buddhist traditions which you find interesting, inspiring or useful. (Your own stories are welcome on DW, but in the Creative Writing or Personal Experience forums rather than here.)

MrDistracted wrote:Yes, you are right. Actually I always meant practitioners from cultures which Buddhism has recently spread to, I guess the easiest thing to say was 'western'.That's no excuse for my sloppiness.I apologise to anyone I have offended by the title of this thread. This thread was only ever meant to be a positive contribution to this forum, somewhere to post a few inspirational stories.I am sorry if it has turned out otherwise.Please feel free to change the name/lock it

Is there a word to replace "westerner" ? A word that would include african and south american buddhists? And also turkish or iranian budhists? Are they westerners as they are born west of India?

Aemilius wrote: Is there a word to replace "westerner" ? A word that would include african and south american buddhists? And also turkish or iranian budhists? Are they westerners as they are born west of India?

how about "convert Buddhists"? this would include persons who grew up outside of a Buddhist context (even within a traditionally Buddhist country, as in a Christian household in Korea &c).

***

The more I reflect on my interactions with Lama Inge when I lived near Spokane, the deeper the impact they have on me today. More on her here:

I take inspiration from this woman who drives for hours to come see this one lama at our center. She loves him and lives out in the sticks where she's a solitary practitioner. Her husband waits in the pick-up while she receives teachings, they have lunch together and he waits again for hours as the teachings continue. You might think she was a hick with her country accent until she starts asking profound questions about the nature of mind and emptiness. Then she packs up and after being effulgently sweet and friendly to everyone-- gets back in the truck and back to the sticks.

Then there's the dude who had a stroke and who's brain is scrambled. He's got to be eighty. But he practices. Has a shrine. He calls begging for help getting to a teaching that he randomly heard about. He's old, feeble, and every step he takes is painful from diabetic feet and arthritis. We help him walk baby steps into the teachings. He demands that several of us get up out of his chair and on his feet when the lama enters the room. At lunch it seems that his cognitive deficits are done. He's radiant and shares with the sangha his visits to Buddhist asia in his youth. Then, back to the nursing home.

And then there's my dharma sibling who's schizophrenic. After some decades of practice, he still has delusions, but they're like having something unusual and unwanted in the trunk of the car. He carries it around but works with it. He's totally open with his disease with the lamas and the sangha. Everyone rolls with it because he does. Freak out. Offer lamps. Do prostrations. Freak out. Study madhyamaka. And so on. The schizophrenia is a distraction and a deviation like any of us have.

There are the people I know that retire and sell it all and go into retreat. Deep into retreat. I'm not talking Asian tourism retreat or American dharma center retreat. Deep retreat. Sell everything and buy a little studio or a trailer and just practice. Or give one's SSI check to one's lama's center and just live in a dorm room. No cruises, tending grand babies, elderhostel, shuffle board or bingo. Practice. Hard.

And there are those kids I see. Sometimes kids as young as 10 or 12 sitting next to me taking wangs and doing practice. Year after year. Seem to bypass the adolescent shit and just dig into practice. Young people in their late teens early twenties, when I was out whoring and drinking, coming to weekly dharma practice. Young people you have to take seriously like any dharma bro because they've put the time in on the cushion practicing, studying, taking teachings.

Aemilius wrote: Is there a word to replace "westerner" ? A word that would include african and south american buddhists? And also turkish or iranian budhists? Are they westerners as they are born west of India?

how about "convert Buddhists"? this would include persons who grew up outside of a Buddhist context (even within a traditionally Buddhist country, as in a Christian household in Korea &c).

This is not quite one step from the use of "Neo-Buddhist" commonly found in the Indian press.

"Even if you practice only for an hour a day with faith and inspiration, good qualities will steadily increase. Regular practice makes it easy to transform your mind. From seeing only relative truth, you will eventually reach a profound certainty in the meaning of absolute truth."Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche.

most inspiring person in eastern Europe - Polish Lama - Lama Rinchen (Waldemar Zych)he has been a disciple of the Venerable Tenga Rinpoche for more than 30 years. The Rinpoche has appointed him the president of the Karma Kamtzang Association in Poland, and has made him a lama-resident of the Centre in Grabnik, which is a Polish branch of the Benchen monastery.He is also teacher for 3 year retreat centre in Poland and is entitled by Ven. Tenga Rinpoche and H.E. Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche to give public empowerments.Lama Rinchen also travels around Europe to many centres in Poland, Czech, Slovakia, Germany, Greece, Italy with teachings and empowerments.

And recently I heard about David Petit (husband of Lama Tsultrim Allione), who died last year and Tulku Sangngag was keen that his realisation was publicised as an inspiration for others, saying he was certain David had acheived liberation in the bardo of Dharmata:

I was wondering if there are any more stories like this, of western practitioners who have actually shown signs of realisation at the time of death.Of course, there are going to be many realised practitioners who don't show signs, and realisation is not just showing 'signs', but I find stories like this so inspiring as my habit of needing evidence seems hard to break at times...and this proves (to me) that it really can be done

(Mods....I hope this is the right forum for this, please move if necessary)

xylem wrote:I take inspiration from this woman who drives for hours to come see this one lama at our center. She loves him and lives out in the sticks where she's a solitary practitioner. Her husband waits in the pick-up while she receives teachings, they have lunch together and he waits again for hours as the teachings continue. You might think she was a hick with her country accent until she starts asking profound questions about the nature of mind and emptiness. Then she packs up and after being effulgently sweet and friendly to everyone-- gets back in the truck and back to the sticks.

Then there's the dude who had a stroke and who's brain is scrambled. He's got to be eighty. But he practices. Has a shrine. He calls begging for help getting to a teaching that he randomly heard about. He's old, feeble, and every step he takes is painful from diabetic feet and arthritis. We help him walk baby steps into the teachings. He demands that several of us get up out of his chair and on his feet when the lama enters the room. At lunch it seems that his cognitive deficits are done. He's radiant and shares with the sangha his visits to Buddhist asia in his youth. Then, back to the nursing home.

And then there's my dharma sibling who's schizophrenic. After some decades of practice, he still has delusions, but they're like having something unusual and unwanted in the trunk of the car. He carries it around but works with it. He's totally open with his disease with the lamas and the sangha. Everyone rolls with it because he does. Freak out. Offer lamps. Do prostrations. Freak out. Study madhyamaka. And so on. The schizophrenia is a distraction and a deviation like any of us have.

There are the people I know that retire and sell it all and go into retreat. Deep into retreat. I'm not talking Asian tourism retreat or American dharma center retreat. Deep retreat. Sell everything and buy a little studio or a trailer and just practice. Or give one's SSI check to one's lama's center and just live in a dorm room. No cruises, tending grand babies, elderhostel, shuffle board or bingo. Practice. Hard.

And there are those kids I see. Sometimes kids as young as 10 or 12 sitting next to me taking wangs and doing practice. Year after year. Seem to bypass the adolescent shit and just dig into practice. Young people in their late teens early twenties, when I was out whoring and drinking, coming to weekly dharma practice. Young people you have to take seriously like any dharma bro because they've put the time in on the cushion practicing, studying, taking teachings.

-XY

Contentment is the ultimate wealth;Detachment is the final happiness. ~Sri Saraha

Paul wrote:Very near the top of the list for most inspirational and dedicated western practitioners ever is Erik Pema Kunsang. He met Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche on the top of a brick-lorry and the rest is history...

There are a few authentic traditional group three-year retreat centers in the Vajrayana tradition currently in the U.S., including and Lama Tharchin Rinpoche’s retreat center in California (until Thinley Norbu Rinpoche’s passing this was under his overall guidance), Khenpo Kartar Rinpoche’s center in upstate, N.Y. and Khenpo Lodro Thaye’s relative new center in Arkansas. Centers that have three year retreats oriented more towards individual practice in include Garchen Rinpoche’s center in Arizona and, recently, Lama Tsultrim Allione’s center at Tara Mandala in Colorado (under the direction of Tulku Sangngak Rinpoche.)

Such a retreat provides invaluable training for serious practitioners, whether they want to live the lifestyle of a lifelong yogin or apply their practice in daily life. I count 8 people who have completed at least 6 years in retreat in our community at Lama Tharchin Rinpoche’s center (connected with the http://www.Vajrayana.org.

But, people who really want to do long term retreat are rare in the U.S. Please consider supporting one or more of them financially. There are scholarships available to some of them these days, but they do not cover all expenses. Enlightenment seems to usually require 1. A practitioner who is willing to dedicate many years in to practice. 2. A sponsor. If number one is not available to you, consider number 2.